The most influential industrial designer of his generation, Marc Newson (Australian, born 1963) has designed everything from a dish rack to a personal jet, some pieces mass-produced, others one-offs, for both companies and art galleries. As creative director of Qantas Airways, Newson redesigned the interiors and fittings of the airline’s Airbus fleet, including cabin lighting and seats as well as its in-flight tableware.

This exhibition features for the first time the designer’s domestic products, furnishing an abstracted 2,000-squarefoot house and garage within the Museum’s Collab Gallery. Whether Newson’s 021C concept car for Ford parked in the garage (named originally for its orange Pantone color number), the rapid-prototyped Dish Doctor dish rack (kitchen), the iconic aluminum-clad Lockheed Lounge (living room), or the Zvezdochka sneakers for Nike (adult bedroom), what distinguishes Newson’s designs as much as their range is their innovative use of materials and manufacturing techniques. The Micarta chair (living room), for example, is made from layers of linen laminated with a phenolic resin commonly used for knife handles.

Marc Newson will be in Philadelphia on November 22 to receive Collab’s 2013 Design Excellence Award and give an illustrated lecture about his work in the Van Pelt Auditorium. Following the lecture, Collab will host a subscription preview and buffet supper in the Museum’s Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building to inaugurate the exhibition.

Exhibition Minutes

“Retro-futurist” Marc Newson reflects on the importance of design in contemporary life. He discusses why craftsmanship and quality materials are essential for both hand-carved and mass-produced objects, and reacts to seeing his domestic products assembled within an abstracted house in the Museum’s Collab Gallery.

Sponsors

This exhibition is made possible by Lisa S. Roberts and David W. Seltzer. Additional support is provided by Collab—a group that supports the Museum’s modern and contemporary design collection and programs. In-kind support is provided courtesy of Alessi, Dom Pérignon, Flos, Gagosian, GWA, Herman Miller, KDDI, Pentax Ricoh, Smeg, and Qantas Airways. The Philadelphia Museum of Art gratefully acknowledges Poor Richard’s Charitable Trust and the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation for support of the Collab Student Design Competition.